DOE to Fund Studies of Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Power

Could a future "hydrogen economy" be fueled with nuclear power? That's
the question that two industry teams will investigate with the help of
about $1.4 million in DOE funds. Hydrogen has many advantages because
it burns cleanly and could allow our vehicles to run without producing
any pollution, but ultimately hydrogen is just an energy carrier: it
needs to be produced from some other form of energy. While renewable
energy may be the cleanest and most sustainable source of hydrogen, it
would have to compete with other energy sources, including natural
gas, coal, and nuclear power.

DOE announced on August 14th that industrial teams led by Electric
Transportation Applications and GE Global Research will investigate
ways to produce hydrogen from nuclear energy. Electric Transportation
Applications will study the feasibility of producing hydrogen at
today's nuclear plants using commercially available hydrogen
production technology, while GE Global Research will study the use of
a low cost alkaline electrolyzer developed by GE. Electrolyzers apply
a current to water to split it into its constituent elements, hydrogen
and oxygen. See the DOE press release.